


The Fifth Year (A Scorbus Story)

by DumbGayVampires



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boyfriends, Fluff, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Slow Burn, They each describe the other's hair in excruciating detail pretty much every chapter, i kinda forgot magic was a thing so they dont really use it oops, lots of crying and running, non sexual bed sharing, one bed cuz im basic, rated teen cuz theres a little bit of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-09-27 06:03:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20402896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DumbGayVampires/pseuds/DumbGayVampires
Summary: Albus Severus Potter never thought himself destined for romance, oh how wrong he was.--------------------------------------------Albus Potter is already dreading going back for his fifth year at Hogwarts. He doesn't want to leave behind his father who he had finally made amends with, he doesn't want to go back to the place where he almost died only a couple months prior, and to top it all off he's started having strange feelings towards his best friend, Scorpius. Things couldn't get worse. Until Albus's cousin, Rose goes missing. When Scorpius resolves the pair must go find her, Albus is thrown into the exact same danger as last year, the kind he was trying so desperately to avoid.





	1. Platform 9 3/4

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there everyone! My name is Leo and thank you so much for clicking on my story. I originally posted this on Wattpad and then decided I wanted to post it here as well. Since I already have the first few chapters up on Wattpad I'll be updating weekly until I catch up.

The date was September first and Albus Potter was standing on Platform 9 ¾ about to go off to his fifth term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On an ordinary year this day was plagued by misery, anxiety, and homesickness. But this year was anything from ordinary. See, the previous term Albus and his best mate Scorpius Malfoy had gotten into a little spot of trouble involving time travel, alternate realities, and the rebirth of the dark lord. You know, average teenage shenanigans. That whole experience had taught Albus many things but mainly he learned to be grateful for what he had and make the most of his life. After spending the summer repairing his relationship with this father, Albus was ready to give Hogwarts another go. Still he was as terrified as he had been four years prior when he came to Platform 9 ¾ for the very first time, his little 11 year old body buzzing with adrenaline and sleep deprivation. Albus imagined he was a first year again, so young so naive, so unaware of the terrors his future held.

He picked his head up and scanned his surroundings. The scene reminded Albus of a carnival. Children old and young ran in every direction saying goodbye to their families and hello to their friends. Parents stood on the outskirts looking bored or tired. The steam from the Hogwarts Express created a thick white blanket over the entire platform, engulfing them all in a confusing fog. In front of him he spotted a young boy of about nine running with glee to his parents, a burly, rather tall man and a frail, short woman. Their eyes lit up when they saw the child approach. On their right was a slightly older boy of about eleven clutching his trunk so tightly his knuckles were white. Despite the cool September weather he was sweating profusely, his thick, black hair stuck to his forehead. He was most likely a first year suffering from a very severe case of freshman nerves. Albus considered going over there and assuring him everything would be fine but his own nerves prevented him. Was it weird to go up to him out of the blue? What would he say? How would he answer the kid's surly endless stream of questions? No, best to leave the troubled kids to a prefect or someone who wasn't just a ball of anxiety in a sweater vest.

Albus felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around. There grinning up at him was his father, Harry Potter. At first glance, Harry seemed like your average, greying, middle-aged man. He was slender, pale, and owned only two t-shirts. But on closer examination, you could see the faint outline of a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It was this very scar that caused all wizards to gawk when they saw him and shower him in gifts with homemade cards attached. Because Harry James Potter had seen his own share of troubles. Albus had heard the stories of his father's heroic exploits countless times usually from an overenthusiastic, slightly tipsy Ron Weasley. 

"I just want you to know," Harry said, his tone calm "that no matter what happens this year I still care about you." 

"What could possibly be worse than last year?" Albus asked.

Harry cringed "Don't jinx it." They stood in silence for a moment observing the scene of chaos unfolding in front of their very eyes.

"Oh wait!" Harry said suddenly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin engraved with the letters D.A.   
"This is the coin I used back when I was a fifth year. All of the Dumbledore's Army members had one and it was how we kept in contact about meetings while under Umbridge's rule." Harry scowled as he said the name of his old headmistress. Albus had never been told exactly what Umbridge did to him but he knew it had something to do with the scar on the back of his hand.

"If the one with the master coin needed to send a message the rest of our coins would get warm. You can even change the date in case you get lost in time again. I know you promised you'd be careful and I believe you but I also know I never went looking for trouble either, it always found me. I know it's not much and I know it seems controlling but... just... here." He held out the coin. Albus took it and slipped it into his pocket, touched for the first time by a gift his father had given him.

"Hey, it's better than that old blanket." Albus said

Harry laughed "If I recall correctly that 'old blanket' saved the world."

They stood there in awkward silence until the Hogwarts Express blew its whistle.

"Five minutes," Harry announced. "You better get going or you'll miss the train and trust me that is not fun."  
Albus could tell you word for word what had happened when his father missed the train in his second year, tipsy Uncle Ron was very fond of that story probably because he played such a big part in it.

"I'll see you in the winter," Harry said. "And Al I love..."  
His words were cut short by Albus pulling his father into a bone-crushing hug. Harry wrapped his arms around his son, not wanting to let go, to see his son disappear so soon after they had just begun to make amends. He knew first hand that anything could happen at Hogwarts and he feared that the high stakes, stressful environment of fifth year would cause a rift to reopen in their newly healed relationship.

"I love you too dad," said Albus as he pulled away. He went to say goodbye to his mother and then help his little sister, Lily, carry her trunk. This was her very first year at Hogwarts and even though she kept denying it, Albus could tell she was uneasy. He was hoping to guide her and help her adjust the way he wished someone had done for him.

"Who will I sit with on the train?" She asked more to herself than to her brother. "Those people will probably end up being my best friends for life!" He could also tell she'd been speaking to Rose.

"Well you know..." Albus started attempting to share with her the story of how he and Scorpius first met.

"Or what if I'm put into Slytherin like you?" She cut him off "What will I do with myself?"

"Gee thanks." Said Albus sarcastically. He tried not to let himself get overly agitated though. He had also been terrified of being sorted into Slytherin on his first day. The only difference was, Lily had as much a chance of being sorted into Slytherin as he did of getting a date. In other words, there was no way in Hell Lily Luna Potter would end up in any house but Gryffindor.

While they made slow progress across the platform, Albus having to practically push his already homesick sister forward, they spotted their cousin, Rose, also walking towards the train a little ways away, her argent prefect badge gleaming proudly on her chest. Lily grabbed her trunk from Albus, forgetting all about how heavy she complained it was, and ran to join her favorite family member.

"So much for helping her adjust." Albus muttered as he watched Rose and Lily chat up a storm, he was too far away to hear what they were saying but he imagined they were discussing how best to avoid bad grades, trouble, and potential sons of the dark lord.  
Albus started his trek to the Hogwarts Express alone, hoping Scorpius would meet him in their usual compartment.

Then out of nowhere, Albus felt two hands cover his eyes and his whole world went black.


	2. The Very Strange Summer of Scorpius Malfoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange people sneaking up on Albus, his strange feelings for his best friend, and Scorpius's strange summer reading list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you all so much for the amount of support you have been giving my story even after only one chapter posted! It genuinely makes me so happy when I see that people are enjoying reading my stories just as much as I enjoy writing them. Just a quick note that from now on I'm going to be updating every Saturday. Thank you again for your support and enjoy this chapter!

Albus panicked. He grabbed the hands over his eyes and yanked them back until he could see again. His vision swam and his brain felt foggy. He was just about to run for help when he heard a voice yell "Ow!" He knew that voice, he would know it anywhere. Albus spun around and stared in confusion at his best friend.

"Albus!" Scorpius said, backing away. "I was just trying to surprise you and now I think you broke my thumb!"

"I'm...I'm so sorry Scorp," Albus said his face turning red. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed the little debacle but everyone else on the platform was solely focused on their children, the majority of them now on the train, saying their last goodbyes to their parents.

"No, it's fine really I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that I was kinda asking for it." Scorpius rubbed his wrists where Albus had grabbed him.

"Did I hurt you badly?" Albus asked, concern flooding his mind.

Scorpius laughed. "No of course not you're the weakest person I know, besides myself of course. If I was a real psycho trying to kill you that would not have worked in fact you would need to gain approximately 36 kilograms to have any chance at warding off potential intruders. I read it in a book this summer called 'The Basics of Staying Safe in a Not So Basic World' by Claudine Crimentti. According to Crimentti, the average weight of a murderer is..."

"Geez Scorp, what did you do all summer?"

"I read that book."

"No I mean besides that."

Scorpius thought for a second "Nope pretty much all I did this summer was read safety books. I also read 'What To Expect When You're Expecting' by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel.

"Is this your weird way of telling me you're pregnant?"

"You can never be too prepared," Scorpius said smiling.

"I think you can be since you are unable to get pregnant and I have no reason to believe that you will be getting anyone else pregnant this year." Albus said now smiling too.

"I mean you're not wrong." Scorpius admitted "I was just really bored. You can only play so many rounds of cricket with your dad before you get sick of it." He took a pause and then added, "So what did you do?"

"Well, I didn't read pregnancy guides. My dad dedicated the whole summer to 'father, son bonding time.'" Albus rolled his eyes. "At first he was trying to get me to play quidditch and be all manly and stuff but once he realized that wasn't happening he just kinda took me to get ice cream every day which wasn't that terrible."

"That's great, Al!" Scorpius said, his face lighting up. "I'm really happy you're on good terms with your dad again."

"Yeah so am I." Albus said, a smile growing on his face.

"Aw, you're smiling! That's so cute!" Scorpius said

Albus blushed and turned away so Scorpius couldn't see. He had just been called cute by his best friend and he liked it.

'It's just because he's your best friend.' Albus thought to himself 'Nothing more.'

But Albus wasn't so sure anymore. Ever since summer began he had been thinking about him and Scorpius. Well, he always thought about Scorpius but this was different. He imagined that it was him Albus was going out to ice cream with instead of his dad and that they would get their vanilla cones before exiting the shop holding hands. Then they would take a stroll in the park at sunset together before finding a bench under an aged oak tree to have a long, in-depth discussion that ended with them promising to do it all again the next day. Albus had tried to suppress those feelings but they always snuck up on him when he least expected them. He hoped that being with Scorpius again would remind him of what was real and make it all go away but now that he was right in front of him it was having the opposite effect. Albus was having to restrain himself from tucking Scorpius's hair behind his ear or staring into his stormy, grey eyes. Still, Albus refused to believe that his feelings for his best friend were anything more than a delusion formed from his own loneliness. If he accepted them if he accepted that he had a... no that wasn't it. He didn't like Scorpius that way. If he did he would be changing everything and Albus hated change.

The train whistle sounded again. One minute.

"We're gonna miss the train!" Albus exclaimed being roused from his thoughts

"Come on we gotta go, Scorp."

"Wait." Scorpius put his hand up. "Do you swear to me that when we get on this train we won't try to escape, steal, or do anything else that may cause the trolly lady to go all 'Mortal Combat' on us again?"

"Nope!" Said Albus cheerfully as he took his friend's hand and pulled him towards the train.


	3. "How Scorpius met Albus"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius recalls the day he and Albus first met and how it changed the course of his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for continuing to show this story so much love! I'm so grateful to every single person who decides to click on my work. It means the world to me when I can see that people are actually reading and enjoying the things that I write.

Flashback from Scorpius's POV

—————————————————————-

Scorpius Malfoy's life began the day he met Albus Potter. Before then his life had been less like a life and more like an existence. He floated from day to day in a confusing, lonely haze that suffocated his sense of reality. He spent his days reading in his room, cut off from humanity and his nights going to sleep at exactly eight pm. Every moment was useless. He felt as though he were trapped in his own fate, drowning in the mere act of surviving.

Albus flipped that all on its head. He made Scorpius's life worth something, worth leading. Scorpius was routine. He was schedules and task lists. Albus was spontaneity. He was adventure and light. He brought cheer and humor. He made Scorpius abandon his studying for a walk around the grounds or stay up way past his usual bedtime just because. He showed him how much joy there was in the world and how much he had been missing out on.

Scorpius could still recall every detail of the day they first met, like a movie that constantly replayed itself in his head. It was a particularly gloomy September morning when Scorpius headed to Kings Cross Station for the first time. Dark storm clouds hung low in the sky threatening to overflow with precipitation. He wasn't much excited for Hogwarts though his mother and father had assured him this time would be different. But when you were like Scorpius and you had spent your entire life being called "Death Eater Spawn" you had trouble believing things would ever change. People scowled when the walked past him on the streets and hid if they could. No matter what his parents claimed about children being more accepting than adults Scorpius could see the fear in their eyes. They were scared, scared of the kids and what they would do to their little boy. No Scorpius was not excited for Hogwarts. He saw it as just another place to be made fun of in new and even more horrific ways.

He stared at the ground as he trudged on, careful to step over any stray twigs or leaves that had fallen onto the pavement. Scorpius hoped that maybe if he was quiet enough he could become invisible, blend into the background and avoid ridicule. He could survive the next seven years by pretending he wasn't even there. It would be incredibly lonely but being alone was better than getting bullied.  
Scorpius saw the pointed shoes of other commuters passing by but he didn't dare look up for fear he would catch the eye of a rather aggressive wizard ready to pick a fight with the supposed son of the dark lord (It wouldn't be the first time.)

"Remember Scorp," Came the gentle voice of Astoria Malfoy, Scorpius's mother. "Sweets, Sweets, they help you make friends!" She launched into a short, simple tune that sounded suspiciously like "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat". When Scorpius had brought this up to his mother she denied the accusations claiming that the song was a totally original arrangement of her own composition.

"Mom!" Scorpius exclaimed momentarily forgetting about his promise to remain invisible to check if anyone had taken notice of his mom's bursting into song. No people were staring at them or at least no more than normally were. Scorpius returned his focus to the ground his face burning.

"I'm sorry Scorp I know you don't want people looking at you but I just thought you could use a little reminder. If you come home over Christmas holiday with moldy Bertie Botts in your pockets I am going to lose it." She said playfully.

Earlier that morning his mother had stuffed Scorpius's pockets full of enough sweets to make even Willy Wonka jealous. Pumpkin pasties, acid pops, candy floss, you name it Scorpius had it, secure in the front pockets of his Baracuta jacket. If you asked him, Scorpius thought it pointless. To offer someone candy you had to talk to them and no one would want to talk to him. Plus if they only wanted him for his sweets they were as much snakes as the symbol of the house he was bound to be sorted into.

When he finally arrived at the platform Scorpius said a short, hasty goodbye to his parents and got on the train. He headed for the very last compartment hoping it was empty. When he saw that it was indeed unoccupied he slid the door open and took a seat on one of the benches. He pulled a half-crushed caldron cake out of his pocket wishing he had someone to share it with. But no one cared about his sweets or him. As Scorpius unwrapped it he glanced around his compartment. There were two benches covered in a patterned green fabric against both walls. Scorpius took up less than half his bench. The rest of the compartment was eerily empty. He stared down at his caldron cake and took a big bite.

"Oh, caldron cake." He muttered, his mouth full "You're the only one who understands me."

Suddenly the door to his compartment cracked open and the face of a boy appeared in the threshold. He had bright green, almond-shaped eyes. In the dim light of the compartment they had a distracting and rather dazzling sparkle. His jet black hair stood up at odd angles and made him look like an untamed dog. He was beautiful.

"Hi." He said awkwardly "Is this compartment..."

"It's free!" Scorpius said with a bit too much enthusiasm. "It's just me."

"Great." The boy replied scratching the back of his neck. "So we might just...come in for a bit...if that's okay."

"That's okay," Scorpius said hoping the boy couldn't detect the elation in his tone. Whatever he could do to get that boy sitting next to him...


	4. "Anything From The Trolley Dears?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the journey on the Hogwarts Express feelings are shared and secrets uncovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! It's Leo back again with another update. I don't really have that much to say other than I am making a Scorbus playlist if anyone wants to listen along and once I finish it I'll start linking it here at the beginning of every chapter. Alright, that's it enjoy this chapter!

"Anything from the trolley dears?" The shrill, nasally voice of the Trolley lady echoed through the compartment as she cracked open the door. In front of her she was pushing a cart full of all the sweets a Hogwarts student could desire; pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavored beans, and other suspicious-looking desserts Albus never had the guts to try before. Her face now was kind and wrinkled in a way that reminded Albus of his grandmother, Molly. She just looked so sweet and innocent, the kind of person you would love to buy things from because you knew she would use the money to do nothing more than support herself and make those around her happy...

"No!" Albus and Scorpius both yelled in unison so fast that she jumped back. The Trolley Lady looked at them in confusion for a moment then slid the door shut and continued on her way, hobbling along the corridor, pushing her cart of mouth-watering sweets to the next compartment. Albus checked to make sure she was out of earshot and then broke down laughing. Scorpius stared at him for a moment trying to keep his composer and then he too couldn't contain himself.

"Did you see her face?" He said between bouts of hysteria. "She was so confused!"

"And then we were all like 'No!'" said Albus hardly able to think.

In the midst of their laughing they didn't realize that another person had entered their compartment.

"What's so funny?" Asked the stern, posh voice of Rose Granger-Weasley. She had her arms crossed and a deadly expression on her face. Immediately Scorpius sat up straight and tried to look as proper as possible.

"Oh, hey Rose." He said, manipulating his voice to sound more "manly".

"Hello, Scorpius." She replied without even looking at him. She was staring at Albus, fire in her eyes. "Albus." She said softly but with a tinge of spite. "Please explain to me why the entire train needs to hear the sound of you and your friend howling up a storm."

"I...I..."

"Please do try to keep your voice down and that's an order." She pointed obnoxiously to the prefect badge on her chest before sauntering away.

Scorpius stared longingly at her back as she disappeared from view.

"Knock it off will you?" Albus scolded harsher than he had intended. It was just that seeing Scorpius look at Rose that way made him feel a very strange emotion that could only be described as some form of jealousy. It was a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach but also a wave of heated anger in his mind. He wanted to yell at Scorpius to shut up, to forget about Rose who would never love him and focus on the person right in front of him instead.

"Sorry." Scorpius replied quietly tearing his eyes away from Albus's cousin. "It's just that I really like her and I want to be with her so badly and..."

"Just shut up already will you?" Albus snapped, the anger inside his mind beginning to seep out.

Scorpius jumped at the tone of his friend's voice, hurt filling his face. "I...I'm sorry." He said even quieter as though he were no more than a small mouse.

Albus sighed and covered his face in his hands. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I know that you like her and I'm okay with that it's just that she's still my cousin and it's a little weird with you talking about her all the time." That was all mostly true. Albus did find it weird that Scorpius liked to talk about Rose so much. She was after all his cousin and it unsettled him to hear Scorpius constantly go on about how gorgeous and smart and proper and flawless she was. The lie, however, was that he was okay with his best friend's crush. It wasn't like he had a right to be protective over Rose. They hadn't been close since they were kids and even after the events of last term preferred to keep a safe distance from one another. But something about Scorpius's infatuation with the girl made him uneasy. Although he had a suspicion he would feel the same way if it was anyone else. Still, though that didn't necessarily mean he had a crush on Scorpius. He was supposed to feel wary of his best friend dating other people because he wouldn't want them to get hurt. It was nothing more than a platonic regard for Scorpius's feelings.

"It's totally okay I get it. I'll try not to talk about her so much." Scorpius said giving his friend a hesitant smile.

Albus returned it even though it felt forced. Scorpius had apologized but he still wasn't happy and that was not a good thing. He went back to gazing out the window at the scenery flashing by. Maybe the stunning landscape of the countryside could help take his mind off his feelings that were no longer so confusing, only terrifying.


	5. The "Almost Kiss"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The carriage ride up to Hogwarts castle changes everything...well almost.

The wheels creaked as the Hogwarts Express halted to a stop. Albus ran to the window trying to catch a glimpse of the castle but it was difficult to see with the darkness shrouding everything in sight and the smoke billowing from the top of the train, flowing over the tracks in uneven, hazy clouds.

He sat back down and looked across from him to where Scorpius had fallen asleep. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically and his was face calm. A slight dopey smile tugged at his lips as if he had just heard the funniest joke but wasn't allowed to share it with anyone else. Scorpius hardly smiled when he was awake. Albus knew that after everything he'd been through he had trouble showing emotion for fear of appearing vulnerable. So seeing his friend being genuinely happy for once even if just in sleep brought a smile to his face.

A little strand of shiny, platinum blond hair had become un-tucked from behind Scorpius's ear and now laid sloppily across his forehead. Suddenly Albus had an intense gut urge to tuck it back behind his ear for him, to put his hand gently on Scorpius's face and comfort him. Albus scolded himself. Scorpius was his best friend, how could he allow himself to think such things? All they would ever be was friends and that was okay. Their friendship was something special, it was uncomplicated and so real, the realest a friendship could possibly be. How could he be so selfish as to want to throw a wrench in that? Albus scolded himself some more and shoved his feelings into the darkest depths of his mind before placing his hand on Scorpius's shoulder and lightly shaking him awake.

"Scorp." He said softly, placing his face as close to his friend's as he dared, as close as he thought he could be without being pulled to his lips like a magnet. "Wake up, we're here."

Scorpius's eyes fluttered open. Albus saw as he often did when he woke his friend for breakfast in the Great Hall, the moment where his dreamlike, carefree state existed for one more instant into his waking hours, the moment where Scorpius forgot his pain and just existed. Then his face became more serious and closed off, his features settled like drying cement and his eyes were robbed of their twinkle. His shoulders slumped as if a giant weight had been placed upon them. That was the moment that came right after the blissful, delusional, dream moment, the one where all of Scorpius's memories, experiences, and trauma came flooding back to him in a title wave of grief and anguish, knocking him back and drowning him in his own emotions.

The bliss of dreaming was cruel, Albus decided. It caused you to feel safe and warm before ripping all of that from you with the cold emptiness of reality the moment you awoke. That, he told himself, was even worse than never getting a break from it in the first place.

Scorpius yawned and glanced around the compartment, his eyes finally coming to rest on Albus's hand still firmly locked on his shoulder. Albus awkwardly removed it although he longed to keep it there.

"Already?" Scorpius asked, "But I'm still tired."

"Well, then you shouldn't have taken a nap." Albus lectured playfully "I know they only make you more tired. Remember that time you took a nap in the common room before history of magic back in second year? You ended up falling asleep in class."

"To be fair, everyone falls asleep in history of magic." Scorpius replied.

"Correction, everyone but you falls asleep in history of magic, you love that subject, you big nerd." Albus fired back.

"I mean I can't argue with that." Admitted Scorpius holding his hand out. At first, Albus was confused. What did Scorpius want? Did he want Albus to kiss it? Did he want him to hold it? Then he realized, he needed help getting up. Albus pulled Scorpius to his feet and together they got their trunks from the over-head shelves. When they had gathered all their belongings they headed into the corridor where a long line of students was already assembled, waiting for the doors of the train to open. Albus stared into space until he noticed Scorpius looking down the line like he was searching for someone.

"Where's your sister?" He asked.

Lily! Albus had forgotten all about her! He was supposed to be there for her to help her adjust and he'd completely let it slip from his mind! He was a lousy excuse for a brother.

"I honestly have no idea." He admitted, "But she's probably farther up the line chatting with Rose."

"And your brother?" Scorpius asked. Albus felt another pang of guilt. It wasn't like James needed protecting. In fact, he should probably be protecting other people from James but still, he should be there looking out for his own siblings. He had just been so distracted...

"He's probably writing profanities on the walls." Albus joked

"Fair enough." Scorpius replied and they both giggled.

Finally, the line began to move and the two boys emerged from the train into the crisp, early autumn air. Albus tried to keep his mind off of his feelings by observing the peculiar scene around him but it was to no avail. Even the sight of Arnold Thomas hopelessly trying to stuff his pet toad back into its cage couldn't keep him from picturing Scorpius's peaceful face as he slept, the smile tugging at his lips, and his overwhelming desire to kiss them.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked, looking at Albus with concern. After spending so much time together they could always tell when something was plaguing the other and knew just how to get them to open up about it. That was great in a lot of ways but not when Albus was thinking about how badly he had wanted to kiss his best friend.

"Um...nothing," Albus said unconvincingly, avoiding Scorpius's eyes.

"Come on Al." Scorpius pressured. "I know something is on your mind, just tell me."

"What were you dreaming about?" Albus blurted out, no longer being able to control himself.

'Stupid Albus.' He reprimanded himself 'You stupid, stupid, lovesick boy. Why the hell would you say that?'

Scorpius just gawked at him. "Why would you ask that?"

"I saw you smiling while you were sleeping I was just curious." Albus said, "You don't have to say if you don't want to, it was a stupid thing to ask anyway." He added hastily.

"No, no it's fine I'll tell you." Said Scorpius "I was dreaming about my mom and my dad, that the three of us were together again."

"Oh," Albus said not knowing what else to say.

They continued to walk, silence hanging in the air until Scorpius spoke again,

"I still miss her you know." He said "I think I always will. When you lose someone that important to you I don't think you ever stop missing them completely. I think a piece of your heart dies with them. You feel hollow and lonely every time you think of them because that part of your heart connected to them has shriveled up."

Albus turned to face his friend and suddenly saw him in a way he had never seen him before. He was like a shattered glass, broken and un-mendable. You could try to put it back together but no matter what you did you would still see the individual shards, the scars of the time during which it felt most defeated.

"Would you miss me?" Albus asked as they got to the end of the platform and began hunting for an empty carriage. He knew he was acting childish and desperate but it had escaped his lips before he could even process it. That was becoming a theme for his conversations with Scorpius. 

"Of course I would miss you!" Scorpius exclaimed as if the question offended him. They found an unoccupied carriage and climbed in sitting next to each other on the cushy, leather bench. As Albus was attempting (and failing) to rid himself of his enormous blush, Scorpius did something that nearly caused him to explode, he grabbed his hands. Albus whipped his head around and stared right into Scorpius's pale, grey eyes. They were filled with a fiery, charged, slightly insane passion that caused his stomach to do a flip. Scorpius's eyes had always fascinated Albus. They were ashy and dull but yet they could stare into your soul and conjure up emotions you weren't even aware you could feel. Sometimes he felt like the whole rest of the world could disappear because as long as he had Scorpius's eyes on his he didn't need anything else.

"You're my best friend, Al." Scorpius continued "My only friend. I'd miss you like hell if anything were to happen to you. I nearly went insane last year when your dad tried to keep us apart and then when we messed up the timeline and you got erased from existence, I was a wreck. I need you, Albus, otherwise I'm lost." He gave Albus a small smile and before he knew what was happening Albus too was smiling, his face illuminated by a large, stupid grin. "I mean I had to think of you to ward of the dementors!" Scorpius added, matter-of-factly.

"You what?" Albus exclaimed.

Scorpius covered his mouth with one hand but kept the other firmly locked in Albus's. "I never told you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Um no." Albus said curiously "What happened with the dementors?"

"When I was in the alternate reality," Scorpius started "The one where you didn't exist, Snape and I were attacked by dementors. I had to think of my happiest memories in order to produce a Patronus strong enough to save us. I thought of you." Scorpius put his other hand back into Albus's and moved closer to his friend until their foreheads almost touching. His breath rattled and Albus felt chills go down his spine. Was this it? Were they going to kiss?

"Albus," Scorpius began, looking down at their interlocked hands as if he had no idea how they had ended up in this situation.

Suddenly the door burst open and the boys jumped apart, landing on opposite sides of the bench. Polly Chapman strutted into the carriage sporting her usual, unearned confidence and egotistical attitude.

"This one's empty!" She yelled behind her.

"Um actually, Polly," Albus protested.

She spun around and noticed for the first time that Albus and Scorpius were, in fact, sitting there.

"Oh, you and your boyfriend are here?" She scowled.

"I'm not his," Scorpius started.

"It doesn't matter. We'll still have enough room." She took a seat in between the two boys. Four other people entered the carriage after her also seating themselves in between the pair. Albus didn't know most of them but he did spot Murphy Dunn among the crowd, a Ravenclaw in 6th year and Polly's boyfriend. He was easy to recognize with his dark, bushy eyebrows that joined together to form one Neanderthal-like uni-brow. Albus stared out the window as he took a seat and the carriage lurched forward, beginning it's trip to the Hogwarts Castle. But Albus wasn't paying attention to the scenery like he should have been. Instead, he was focusing on what had just transpired moments before. Scorpius had been about to kiss him, hadn't he? But that thought didn't scare Albus nearly as much as the fact that he had wanted him to. And then Polly fucking Chapman had to barge in, in all her obnoxious glory and completely ruin the moment. Now they were separated by a crowd of the noisiest people at Hogwarts not even able to see each other much less have privacy. Albus craned his neck trying to get a look at Scorpius but could only manage to spot a lock of golden hair standing out harshly against the all-black interior of the carriage. Albus looked back out the window, his mind abuzz with the thought of his friend and his not-so-platonic any more feelings.

Eventually, the carriage began to slow down. Polly and her friends immediately jumped up and ran for the door before it had even come to a complete stop. Albus and Scorpius stayed behind until the wheels creaked and stopped moving entirely. Then they both stood up and glanced at each other, making awkward on and off eye contact.

"Shall we?" offered Scorpius gesturing towards the door.

"After you." Albus replied.

So they were just going to pretend their little almost-kiss never happened huh? That was fine. Albus could deal with that. It was probably better to stick to what they knew anyway and not try to switch anything up. Albus liked to be spontaneous and reckless but he couldn't afford that with Scorpius. He cared too much and he wouldn't dare change a thing. Scorpius probably didn't even like Albus that way. He was straight, after all, his obsession with Rose proved that. Their almost-kiss probably made him super uncomfortable and he hadn't meant it that way. Nope, it was for the best that they never brought it up again and continued their normal, routine friendship the way it had always been.

Scorpius made his way to the door and Albus followed, ducking his head so he didn't hit the frame on the way out. Together they emerged back into the night much different from when they had entered but both furiously convincing themselves that nothing had changed.


	6. The Sorting Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the annual Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony! Normally Scorpius would be hanging off the edge of his seat with excitement but this year, his mind is elsewhere.

The Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony, a widely cherished annual event in which the incoming Hogwarts freshmen stand in judgment before the infamous sorting hat and are placed into one of four houses where they will spend the rest of their Hogwarts careers. Hufflepuff for the kindest of them all, Ravenclaw for the readiest minds, Gryffindor for the bravest souls, and Slytherin for those set on world domination. Most returning students spent the sorting ceremony on the edge of their seats, craning their necks to catch a glimpse at what they'd be working with from now on. But Scorpius Malfoy wasn't paying the sorting any attention for two main reasons. One, he had no family or friends that he knew being sorted and two, he was too busy staring at Albus.

Or more like the back of Albus's head. He gazed longingly at the mess of dark curls and just general untidiness that was Albus's hair. Albus was different from his dad in almost every way but their hair was exactly the same. Or so Scorpius had heard. He had never really gotten a good look at the back of the famous Harry Potter's head but he had heard his dad complain about it enough that he could probably describe it in painstaking detail.

"That stupid Potter and his stupid messy hair." Draco would start after he'd gotten a couple glasses of wine in his system. "Really has that man ever heard of hair gel or even just a brush?"

Secretly Scorpius believed his father might have fancied Potter a bit. He hadn't decided whether he thought it was cute or just unhealthy.

Scorpius allowed his mind to wander back to the carriage. Albus had been about to kiss him, he was sure of it and he wasn't clear on how he felt about that. But when he felt Albus's face so close and their breath mixed his whole body had been ignited like a flame and all he wanted was more. Of course, it was just a fluke though. Scorpius didn't think of Albus that way. They were just friends, the best of, and that's all they'd ever see each other as. Still, there was something about the way Albus made him feel that didn't seem quite platonic anymore.

"Scorp," Albus said, bringing his friend back to the present. Scorpius scanned his surroundings. The sorting ceremony had concluded and the once empty platters on their table were now filled to the brim with dozens of mouth-watering dishes. It was at that moment that Scorpius noticed Albus's hand on his shoulder.

'Second time today' He thought. The pressure of his friend's hand sent a shock down his spine and Scorpius shrugged it away as he spooned a mountain of steaming mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"You good, Scorp?" Albus asked, a quizzical look on his face and one eyebrow raised.

God, he looked so cute like that.

"Um...yeah I'm tip-top." He replied unconvincingly without meeting his eyes.

"You sure mate? 'Cuz you seem a bit out of it."

"I think I'm just hungry." Scorpius lied trying to keep his mind off of the way Albus's hair fell in a light, sloppy wave onto his forehead.

"You know you can tell me anything." Said Albus, his wide, almond-shaped eyes locking on Scorpius's with such determination that it caused chills to spread from his chest all across his body.

'I can't tell you this.' Scorpius thought, 'Anything but this.'


	7. When We Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The feast is over! Return to your dormitories, please!

By the end of the feast, everyone was so stuffed that even walking to their dormitories seemed like an insurmountable task. This was certainly the case for Scorpius who after spending the summer eating nothing but cabbage and unholy amounts of bread, his father’s new diet initiative for the both of them, gorged himself of anything he could get his hands on, hunger in his eyes as he crammed at least seven different kinds of cake into his mouth. It was the most food he had eaten in months and it definitely wasn’t agreeing with Scorpius’s new “flat tummy”. Now he was so full that he couldn’t even stand up. His stomach cried out in agony as he put his hands on the table to steady himself enough to get to his feet.

“Geez, Scorp how much did you eat?” Albus asked humorously as he watched his friend struggle to stand.

“Too much,” Scorpius said, giving up at sitting back down on the bench, clutching his stomach in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain.

“Seriously mate you’re gonna need to get up.” Said Albus putting his hands on his hips.

“But I’m so tired.” Scorpius replied, complaining just like he used to do when he was little and went on “family bonding hikes” through Dartmoor with his mom and dad. Now he would kill to go on another one of those even if it was too hot and there was nowhere to sit.

“Well, what do you want me to do about that?” Albus asked a giant grin spreading across his face. He looked so handsome when he smiled, he looked handsome all the time.

Scorpius held out his arm without speaking and waved it limply back and forth. Albus seemed to get the message.

“Fine.” He sighed in mock annoyance as he grabbed Scorpius’s arm and pulled him up. Scorpius swayed and the room spun around him as he fell into Albus. Albus grabbed him around the waist with both of his arms and Scorpius’s hands fell on his shoulders. They were standing so close that Scorpius could smell Albus’s breath. He smelled like chocolate and blueberries, no doubt a result of what he had eaten at the feast. All Scorpius could think about was how beautiful he was and how much he wanted to kiss him. Albus’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open. He gawked at Scorpius, his perfect features contorting with embarrassment and rage. He pushed Scorpius off of him so hard that he staggered back. Then he took one more look around before running out of the Great Hall, leaving Scorpius dazed and confused in his wake.


	8. Make That Boy Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gay awakenings, tension, and lots of tears. Prepare to have your heartstrings tugged at and your emotions taken on a wild, gay, rollercoaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Mild cursing warning  
-Nonsexual bed sharing

Albus ran. His feet had a mind of their own as they carried him down the familiar path towards the Slytherin common room. He came to a screeching halt in front of the stone snakes at the entrance and bent over, hands on his knees and panting heavily as he worked to steady his breathing.

What had just happened? Albus didn't know but he did know that standing that close to Scorpius and allowing his feelings to take that much of a grip on his actions was something he must never do again. It really wasn't Scorpius's fault at all. Albus was the one who agreed to help him up and then put his hands on his waist What was Scorpius supposed to do?

Why was he like this? Why did he have to be such an idiot? Why couldn't he just keep his feelings inside for the sake of preserving his only friendship? And why did he have to be so selfish? Scorpius was never going to like him that way. It was time Albus just accepted it and moved on with his life. But could he? No! Because he was too busy pinning after his best friend who he had fallen hopelessly in love with, emphasis on the hopeless. Albus slumped against the cold, stone wall and sat down. He buried his face in his knees as he began to sob, ugly, warm, tears streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. Albus raised his head, wiping away his tears on the sleeves of his jumper. His vision was cloudy but he could see a face above him, a mixture of yellow and peach. Albus wiped his eyes again and the face came into focus.

Platinum blonde hair slicked back in a neat wave, pale grey eyes wide with concern, narrow nose with a sharp point, thin mouth turned down in a frown, Scorpius.

"Al," He started. Now that Albus's eyes were tear-free he could see that Scorpius had also been crying. His cheeks were unusually red and his eyes were still watering.

"Do you know the password?" Albus asked feebly staring at the mole under Scorpius's right eye instead of directly at him. He knew it was cowardly but it matched with all the other shitty things he'd done.

"Troll bogies." Said Scorpius, eyes locked down at his feet as he kicked a pebble across the floor.

The snakes parted revealing a regal, emerald door with a golden knob.

"Thanks," Albus said trying to subdue the tears rising in his eyes again.

Scorpius's put his hand on the knob but then withdrew it and stared at Albus, his eyebrows furrowed. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, I'm gonna stay out here and collect myself for a bit."

"Oh no, you're not."

Albus looked up again and frowned "What?"

"I'm not gonna just let you stay out here and mope all night. You're going to follow me into the common room and we're gonna sit down and talk about this."

Albus shook his head furiously. "No."

"Albus, please," Scorpius begged. "We need to work through whatever is going on between us because I can't stand to lose you."

"I don't want to talk to you." Albus snapped. It came out before he had time to think about it. Once the meaning of his words dawned on him he clapped his hand over his mouth and immediately started apologizing.

"Scorp, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I didn't mean to..."

"No that's fine, whatever," Scorpius said, returning his eyes to the floor. Albus could just see a single fat tear roll down his cheek. "I'll see you at breakfast." He hastily opened the door and sprinted inside, slamming it behind him. The snakes returned to their original positions covering up the door and blocking Albus from chacing after Scorpius, his best friend, his secret crush, his everything.

***

Scorpius bolted through the common room and up the stairs to his dormitory, the glares of several confused Slytherins lounging around after the feast followed him but he didn't care. Tears welled up in his eyes and he didn't try to stop them. He burst through the door to his room and collapsed on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. He began to sob his chest heaving as burning tears left bright red tracks on his face.

'Damn you Albus', Scorpius's thought. 'Damn you and your perfect sloppy hair, your wide almond eyes that sparkle in the fading sunlight, your beautiful smile that makes me want to be alive. Damn you and the way you make me feel without even knowing it. Damn you to Hell.'

***

Albus didn't know how long it had been. His eyes fluttered open and for a horrifying moment, he didn't know where he was. Then it all came rushing back to him in a suffocating wave of regret. Scorpius, the feast, the way Scorpius's had placed his hands on Albus's shoulders in his half-asleep, food coma induced state, Albus dashing out of the Great Hall and coming to weep in the corridor outside the common room, Scorpius joining him and begging to talk, Albus snapping, Scorpius running away, Scorpius. Albus had messed up. He knew that much if not anything else. He hurt someone he really cared about and he had been taught since day one that the right thing to do now would be to apologize. But he wouldn't, or couldn't. The thought of facing Scorpius, of seeing his thin, pale face contorted with rage directed right at him was too much for Albus to bear. Still, if he didn't at least try to fix this before the morning he might lose Scorpius for good and that thought was even more unbearable. Maybe they would only ever be friends, maybe all of the fanciful things Albus had been imagining since the start of summer break would never become a reality, maybe he would spend the rest of his life quietly pinning after his best friend, but having him even if not in the way he had dreamed of, was better than not having him at all.

Albus sighed and got to his feet.

"Troll bogies." He announced to the snakes. They recoiled once again and revealed the door. Albus pushed it open to find a completely deserted common room. The fireplace was his only company and even that was beginning to die out, casting long, threatening shadows across the floor and up the walls. Albus hurried to the stairs. He had lived in the Slytherin dormitories for five years now and he had even been in the common room at night before, but Scorpius had always been with him and just his presence had made everything less frightening. Without him, it was hard not to feel on edge. Albus sprinted up the stairs and prayed that Scorpius wasn't asleep yet, knowing he wouldn't be able to wake him up without feeling like a prick if he was. He carefully opened the door and looked over at Scorpius's bed. He was on his side facing the door and his eyes were closed. He was clutching his pillow to his chest and silently sobbing into it. The sight broke Albus's heart but at least he was still awake. Albus walked over to his bed, closing the door softly behind him.

"Scorpius." He whispered. Scorpius squinted open his eyes and upon seeing Albus, rolled over onto his other side, facing away from the boy.

"Scorpius," Albus repeated, desperation seeping into his tone.

No response.

"Alright." Albus sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this but you've left me no choice. Albus lifted up the blankets on Scorpius's bed and began to climb in.

Scorpius sat up, wiping tears from his eyes, a look of pure horror on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," Albus said nonchalantly as he rested his head on the mattress and turned away from him.

"Why are you in my bed?"

"So you'll have to talk to me."

"What happens if I don't?"

"I'm not moving until you do." Said Albus, a smug expression on his face.

"I'll push you off." Scorpius warned.

"I'd like to see you try, you've got the muscles of a flobberworm who hasn't eaten in a week."

Silence fell between them and Albus was afraid Scorpius really wasn't going to talk, that he had just given up and gone to sleep. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Scorpius was still sitting there clutching his pillow to his chest as he stared at Albus in disbelief.

"You ready to talk yet?" Albus asked pushing himself up and leaning against the headboard.

"You told me you didn't want to talk." Scorpius said coldly, avoiding his gaze.

Albus sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I know." He said. "I was being stupid, I should have never said that."

"Then why did you?" Scorpius asked, this time looking at Albus. His eyes were filled with so much hurt that it twisted Albus's stomach into a giant knot.

"I don't know." He admitted. "A lot of things don't make sense to me right now. I don't know why I said that and I know it was a messed up thing to do and-"

"Albus."

"Yeah?"

"I forgive you."

"You do?"

"I do."

Albus exhaled a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. "Well, then I guess my work here is done I'll just..." He began to get out of Scorpius's bed.

"No!" Scorpius exclaimed. "I mean, you can just stay here."

Albus felt like he should argue but he didn't want to. He was exhausted and all he wanted was to drift off to sleep with Scorpius beside him.

"Alright then." He said climbing back under the covers and placing his head on the mattress. "Goodnight Scorp."

"Goodnight Al."

Scorpius put his head on his pillow and almost immediately his breathing evened out. Albus looked over at the boy, the rising and falling of his chest, the fluttering of his eyelashes, the way his hair still looked perfect even though it was smashed against a pillow. Albus couldn't help himself, a smile tugged at his lips as he stared at this perfectly beautiful boy who he wanted more than anyone else in the world. His last thought before he was pulled into a dream, was that somehow he would make it happen somehow he would make that boy his.


	9. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where is Rose?

Albus woke to the face of Scorpius Malfoy, surprisingly cheery, looking down at him.

"G' morning Scorp." Said Albus hoping he wouldn't bring up the fact that Albus had spent the night in his friend's bed. He sat up and began walking over to his wardrobe to get changed. Scorpius followed him. "What's got you so happy today?" He asked, grabbing a cardigan from his drawer. Scorpius didn't respond, just pulled his friend into a loving, bone-crushing hug. He knocked his chin on Albus's shoulder and the two of them just stayed there a while, in a tight embrace.

"I missed you, Al," Scorpius said finally.

"I missed you too," Albus admitted. "But now you have to let me go cuz I have to go get dressed."

"Oh right, sorry," Scorpius said sheepishly, pulling away, his face turning a violent shade of red.

"Thanks," Albus said as he headed to the bathroom to change.

When he came out Scorpius was waiting for him, sitting on the edge of his bed reading a book.

"What are you reading?" Albus asked curiously as he deposited his dirty clothes in the hamper.

"Nothing!" Scorpius exclaimed, slamming the book and unceremoniously shoving it into his bedside drawer.

"Is it another safety book?" Albus asked in mock annoyance.

"Um, yeah, totally."

Albus made a mental note to grill Scorpius about it later and find out what it was.

"Come on, let's go," Albus said and together they headed down to breakfast.

***

At first, all seemed normal, Albus and Scorpius arrived at breakfast to find that they were rather late and that the rest of the school was already down there. They took their usual seats at the Slytherin table and instantly began chowing down. The first hint that something was wrong came when half-an-hour into breakfast no one was handing out the course schedules. Usually, at the start of breakfast on the first day of classes, several teachers would come around with the schedules, handing them out to the students and answering any questions or concerns. But all of the teachers were at the head table looking worried and sleep-deprived.

"Scorp," Albus started, pulling his friend away from his mound of pancakes, soaked in way too much syrup for it to be legal. "Why is no one passing around the schedules?"

"I don't know." Scorpius admitted. "That is strange."

When everyone was stuffed once again to their wit's end and not even Scorpius could get himself to eat another bite, Professor McGonagall stood up and crossed to the podium. She looked a mess, Albus noticed. Her grey hair, usually pulled up in a tight bun fell loosely on her shoulders and it seemed like she hadn't even bothered to brush it. There were bags under her eyes and her eyes themselves looked bloodshot and afraid.

"Students, faculty, I have a very upsetting announcement." She began, a hush fell over the hall and Albus could almost feel the mood change from excitement to suspense. "It is with the utmost regret that I must inform you that last night, one of our own, a student who always showed her peers and her professors kindness and respect, a girl who was beloved by all, Rose Granger-Weasley went missing."

The hall erupted into chaos, students began crying, yelling, and a few began cheering.

"Attention please," McGonagall said firmly but Albus could tell her heart wasn't in it. "When I was informed of this I instantly, along with the help of my staff, began searching the school for any signs of Rose or the person who may have taken her. We searched all night but unfortunately came up empty. We have alerted the ministry as well as Hogsmeade citizens to be on the lookout and we are doing all we can to find Rose and get her back safely." McGonagall paused before continuing. "It seems the school is safe and therefore class will continue."

A collective groan rippled through all four tables.

"However after class, all students are to go straight back to their dormitories and no one, I repeat no one shall go looking for Ms. Granger-Weasley. That is the teachers' job and the teachers' job only. You'll find your schedules laying on your beds back in your dorms, you are to go retrieve them and head directly to your first class. Am I understood?"

"Yes Professor." The students sighed in unison.

"Good, you are now officially dismissed." Professor McGonagall left the podium as everyone began filing out of the Great Hall. Albus and Scorpius, however, stayed seated.

Rose, the girl Albus had grown up with, his cousin, his first friend, the girl whose house he had gone over to almost every day when he was little, they had taken their first steps together, said their first words together, played together, and now she was just gone. Sure they had grown apart since Hogwarts began but they were still cousins, she was still a part of him, ingrained into his earliest memories. Albus didn't know how he would cope without the sight of her strutting along the corridor every day, without her nagging and berating. Of course, she was only missing not dead, Albus reminded himself, she won't be gone forever. But there was no way to know for sure.

Scorpius nudged him "You okay, Al?"

"No." He admitted. "How about you?"

"I'm doing pretty much the same." Scorpius said.

And so they just sat there as the rest of the students filled out of the Great Hall back to their dorms to pick up their schedules. The only other people that remained with them were Lily, clutching her open bag filled with color-coded folders that Rose no doubt helped to arrange, Teddy, his usually baby blue hair turning dark red, a group of Rose's friends huddled together at the far end of the Gryffindor table, James, his face like stone as he tried to control his watering eyes, and worst of all Hugo, his features a bright red mass of pain as tears streamed unforgivingly down his round face. It wasn't right seeing Hugo, usually a beacon of light who could make anyone smile so heartbroken. Albus felt tears welling up in his eyes and blinked them back. Scorpius took his hand and squeezed it.

"Hey, you okay to start heading back to the dorm now?" He asked, his own face a mixture of concern and hurt.

"Yeah," Albus said rising from his seat. He wanted to go comfort Lily but that had always been Rose's job. She was better with the younger kids. She knew exactly what to say to make them feel listened too and recognized. For all of her bossy-ness, Rose was very gentle when it came to the kids. She was good with them. Albus was not. He knew that if he tried to say something he would just end up making the situation worse. It was better he just got out of there before he messed everything up. So still holding tight to Scorpius's hand he sulked through the doors of the Great Hall and back to his dorm to collect his schedule, to go about his day like he wasn't on the verge of tears and that the presence of his best friend's hand in his was the only thing keeping him sane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we finally get into the real plot of this story! Sorry it took so long for us to get here. When I was first writing this I got way too caught up in Scorbus's mutal pining and completely forgot that I wanted Rose to go missing. Oops. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did please comment and leave kudos it really means the world to me when I see people like my stories. Until next week! <3


	10. The Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose is gone, Scorpius is confused, and a mysterious note is about to change everything...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all sorry about the lack of updates recently I've been busy with a lot of stuff in my personal life but I'm back now and hoping to get my weekly updates back on track!

Scorpius was upset over Rose, he really was. Rose was a great girl with a bright future ahead of her, but he quickly realized that he didn't feel bad for himself. He empathized with what Albus and the rest of Rose's family must have been going through but he wasn't heartbroken. He didn't agonize over the fact that he never got a date with her and he felt like their relationship was left on good terms. Sure they weren't exactly friends but they weren't really enemies either and in a world where it seemed like everyone was one or the other, it was nice to just have someone in between.

He slung his arm around Albus's neck and let him rest his head on his shoulder. His face was blotchy and tears were just now starting to pour out of his eyes like a great fountain. Scorpius steered both of them down several flights of stairs and through damp stone corridors before winding up back at the Slytherin Common Room. When they got to their dorm, Albus headed straight for the bathroom, slamming the ornate door behind him. Scorpius could hear sobs echoing off the walls from inside the chamber and wished he could do something. But he understood probably better than anybody that sometimes when you lose someone you just need to be alone.

Rose isn't dead. He reminded himself Just missing. They'll find her in a few days. She's probably just hiding out in the library or something. She's fine. She has to be.

Scorpius walked over to his bed and pulled a book out of the dresser drawer. It was "How To Get A Boy To Fall In Love With You" By Erika Earlboro. He hadn't mentioned it to Albus but that was another one of the self-help books he read over the summer. He found it while poking around his father's room one day. It was shoved at the bottom of his old school trunk covered by a pile of robes. He didn't know what boy his father was trying to seduce but he was glad he hadn't succeeded. Scorpius originally started reading the book out of sheer boredom but as he got, further along, he began to realize he had someone specific in mind. He finished it in a matter of days but kept it on his bookshelf instead of putting it back. Every once in a while for the rest of the summer he would take it down and reread a passage or two just to refresh his memory. When school rolled around he made the last-minute decision to shove it in his trunk and take it with him to Hogwarts. Scorpius didn't have an explanation for why he did any of those things although the more time he spent with Albus this year the more he developed a theory...

He opened the book to the first page and a white envelope fell out onto his lap. It was addressed to 'Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy' in neat but cramped handwriting and had a very elegant wax seal that he didn't recognize on the back. The symbol imprinted on the seal was of a peculiar-looking crest with nothing but a single flower running through the middle, slicing it into two parts and strewing its petals all across the otherwise bare surface. The sight of it unsettled Scorpius greatly but he couldn't put his finger on why. He tore it open carefully making sure not to damage the seal and pulled out the sheet of parchment inside. The parchment was filled with the same tidy writing. It read;

"Dear Scorpius,

I have taken Rose. No need to be alarmed I haven't touched a hair on her head...yet. She is being kept with me in a very special hiding place until three days' time when I shall dispose of her accordingly. If you ever want to see her again follow the clues I have laid out on the back of this letter.

And don't think about telling anyone about this because if you do I'll tell him about what you've been thinking."

Scorpius's stomach dropped to the floor. There was no way this person could know, could they?

"I'll also destroy him."

If the other line made Scorpius's stomach drop to the floor, this one made it bounce out of Hogwarts and into the freezing depths of the great lake. He didn't fully believe the writer but any threat against Albus put him on edge.

"You may tell him if you like, it's not like he'll be of much help. He's not very bright, that one. I'm not sure why you care for him so deeply.

"Yours truly, Yeva".

Scorpius couldn't believe what he just read. He looked it over a couple dozen more times just to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Someone had taken Rose, someone was going to kill her in three days if Scorpius couldn't save her, someone knew about his feelings for Albus, someone would destroy him if Scorpius tried to tell anyone but him about the letter.

The bathroom door swung open and Albus moped into the dorm. He was acting as though there was an actual storm cloud above his head, raining its grief on him and anyone who got too close.

"Come look at this," Scorpius said, handing him the letter.

"What in the name of Moaning Myrtle is going on?" Albus asked when he finished reading it.

"I found it in my drawer addressed to me." He explained watching Albus's numerous conflicting emotions cross his face.

"What does it mean by 'I'll tell him what you've been thinking, I'll also destroy him."

"Um..." Scorpius stammered trying to come up with an excuse. "My father."

"Your father?" Albus repeated, unconvinced.

"Yeah." Scorpius bluffed. "I haven't told my dad yet about how I've been thinking I might join the choir."

"Choir?" Albus echoed again.

"Yep. I want to be in choir this year."

"I didn't know you sang," Albus said, almost hurt that his friend hadn't mentioned it to him.

"I don't but I want to start." He lied. Before Albus could question him further he added; "What are we going to do about this?"

"I think you know exactly what we're going to do," Albus replied, a devilish grin illuminating his face.

"I don't know what you're planning," Scorpius started "But I know that look and that look is never good."

Albus just smiled again. Oh no.


	11. The Runaways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus has a plan to save Rose...kind of.

"This is the worst idea you've ever had," Scorpius whispered. "And that's really saying something."

"Shhhhh!" Albus scolded. They were crouched behind a pillar just off the Entrance Hall peering at Professor McGonagall pace back and forth in front of the door.

"But we're not supposed to go looking for her!" Scorpius protested "McGonagall said she would take care of it!"

Albus snapped "She's my cousin, Scorp! Do you think I'm just gonna sit around and leave it up to some teachers whether or not that Yeva asshole gets to kill her? I have to do everything in my power to save her. Sure she can be annoying and stuck up but still, she's family."

Scorpius hung his head "I understand. But do you really think this is the best idea?" Idea was a strong word for it. It was more like Albus took five seconds to put all three of his collective brain cells together before giving up and just deciding to just wing it. His plan was to sneak out of the building so that him and Scorpius could go search for Rose in Hogsmeade as the clue on the back of the letter reading "From Zonkos to Honeydukes, students find me quite the thrill, come look here and find her in three days or I kill." suggested she was being kept. Scorpius could feel his heart beating in his chest. He was nervous. Of course, he was worried about getting caught. McGonagall was pacing not even thirty feet away and another teacher could walk by and bust them at any time but also Scorpius was so close to Albus. He could smell his breath. It smelled like coffee and mint. Scorpius blushed as his mind drifted to him grabbing his friend's hand.

Then out of the darkness, a pair of big, yellow eyes came leaping at Albus. He yelped and grabbed Scorpius's hand in his moment of panic. A cat, the color of dust landed gracefully in front of them and stared at them disapprovingly, Mrs. Norris. They were in trouble. McGonagall, having heard Albus's scream stopped pacing and began walking towards the pillar behind which they were hiding. Scorpius held his breath and squeezed Albus's hand until he was sure he must be cutting off his circulation. Albus didn't seem to mind though. His eyes were shut tight and his face was all scrunched up in fear, someone might think he was praying if they didn't know he wasn't religious at all. He'd once told Albus that if God was real he wouldn't let seagulls exist.

"They're the devil!" He'd ranted late one night in the common room. "If there was a God he would get rid of those sandwich stealing demons who for some reason think it's funny to poop all over my bloody face!" Recalling that memory, Scorpius couldn't help but grin until he heard McGonagall's footsteps coming closer and he remembered where he was. Her high heeled shoes echoed on the marble floor of the entrance hall every time she took another step forward. Then her footsteps stopped and against his better judgment, Scorpius peeked around the pillar to see what was going on. He saw McGonagall, holding Mrs. Norris in her arms speaking to her softly.

"Did you spy any students over there?" She asked the cat. "No, of course, you didn't, you're a cat for Merlin's sake. Sometimes I think Filch works you too hard. You shouldn't be employed as Filch's aid to help catch misbehaving students, that's his job." McGonagall shook her head. "I don't understand that man, I don't think I ever will." And then she walked off holding the cat and muttering to it.

Scorpius shook Albus's shoulder. "Al," He whispered. Albus opened his eyes and looked around him. "She's gone, now's our chance."

"What happened?" Albus asked. "I got so scared, I fell asleep."

Scorpius laughed, "Of course you did." He got to his feet and then pulled Albus up. They continued to hold hands as they tiptoed across the Entrance Hall trying to make as little noise as possible. They were almost at the door when a voice made them stop dead in their tracks.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Slowly Scorpius turned around to see the wrinkled, scowling face of Filch.

Albus tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear; "Run." He said. So he did. Still holding tight to Albus's hand, Scorpius sprinted for the doors. Filch ran after them but there was no way he could outrun two desperate teenage boys. Scorpius reached the doors and flung them open letting the chilly night air hit his face as he pulled Albus along with him down the grounds and towards the Forbidden Forest.


	12. The Forbidden Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Scorpius take a nice, leisurely stroll through arguably the most deadly forest in all of Europe and talk about girls. What could go wrong?

Once they were far into the forest and sure Filch wasn't following them anymore Albus and Scorpius's pace slowed from a desperate sprint to a leisurely walk. Not that there was anything leisurely about a stroll through the Forbidden Forest. Their only company in the vast expanse of woods were the occasional howls from distant creatures and the gargantuan pines, reaching so far into the night sky that they blocked out the stars and seemed to extend up into the heavens. Scorpius's hand had long since broken away from Albus's but still, they walked near each other on the narrow dirt path, weaving around trees and exchanging body heat in the frigid air. Every time Albus heard a noise from the darkness he jumped and considered taking hold of Scorpius's hand again. It wasn't like there was anyone there to stop him, but also there was no one there to stop him. If he took Scorpius's hand and Scorpius got angry he could very well leave him for dead or even worse, he could kill him. Of course Scorpius wouldn't do that, he couldn't hurt a fly but still, there was no one to stop them out there. They could do whatever they wanted with no repercussions. That was at once, both the most exhilarating and terrifying thing Albus had ever experienced. Complete freedom, to be both the best, and worst he could be, no one should ever have that much power.

"I was just thinking," Scorpius said suddenly, gazing at the night sky above with admiration.

"About what?" Albus asked watching how Scorpius's hair shimmered in the pale moonlight.

"About the last time we were here."

"Oh."

"I was thinking about Delphini, about what she did to us here and about what she almost did to all of humanity, she was insane."

"Yeah," Albus said, looking up at the stars. He had purposely been trying to keep his mind off Delphini or any of the things that happened last year since they entered the forest. It was all still too fresh in his memory for him to reflect on. It was best to just not think about it until the wound had fully healed.

"I don't get why you liked her so much."

"Hmm?"

"Delphini," Scorpius explained. "Why'd you like her?"

"I don't think I did." Albus admitted tearing his gaze from the stars above and looking at Scorpius who shined just as brightly. "Even before I found out she was Voldemort's daughter and a complete psychopath, I thought of her more like a big sister. I kinda just..." He stopped. "No, it's stupid."

"Albus," Scorpius said placing a hand on his shoulder carefully as if unsure he was still allowed to touch him when they weren't in life-threatening situations. "Nothing you say is ever stupid."

"I thought Delphini was smart and super cool before she revealed her true colors of course, but I never really fancied her that way. I just pretended because..." He stopped again and took a deep breath. He was outing himself, being completely open and exposed. This was what the forest made him do. This was the worst thing he could possibly be, honest. "Well because I've never really fancied a girl before and I felt like I was supposed to."

"Albus!" Scorpius exclaimed, "If you haven't fancied a girl before that's totally okay! Loads of people don't develop crushes until they become older and more mature. And who knows maybe you're gay."

Did Albus hear a hint of hopefulness in his voice? He must have been imagining it.

"I'm not gay." He said. Scorpius raised an eyebrow and his heart skipped a beat.

Maybe he was a little gay.


	13. The Hog's Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Scorpius emerge from the forest and find themselves at The Hog's Head. They feel as though nothing can surprise them now but when they get to their room they have to reconsider.

By the time Albus and Scorpius emerged from the forest, the sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the previously onyx sky with shades of purple, orange, and red. They stepped out of the woods and onto the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade. The village was still mostly asleep which was good because Albus and Scorpius both looked like they had gotten attacked by the Whomping Willow. Albus's hair had leaves and branches sticking out and was all around just an even bigger mess than usual. Scorpius's hair had somehow managed to remain perfect (of course) but his face was all scrapped up from when he tripped over a root. A small gash just bellow his chin was bleeding onto his cardigan making him look like the main character in a Muggle movie about a zombie apocalypse at a boarding school.

"Finally some civilization." Scorpius laughed before yawning.

"Let's go to the Hog's Head and get some sleep," Albus suggested. He had been walking all night and could barely keep his eyes open. He was so tired he could fall asleep standing up. 

"That's a great idea."

They dragged themselves through the streets of Hogsmeade, watching the sunrise and the sleepy little village begin to awake. By the time they reached the Hog's Head, several early risers were going on jogs and stepping out of their homes to apparate to work. A couple gave the boys curious glances but whether it was because the people recognized them or because they looked like Hell, Albus wasn't sure.

They stepped through the grimy door of the Hog's Head and a bell chimed somewhere from inside the tavern signaling their arrival. Looking around him, Albus saw that the tavern was nearly deserted except for an elderly man sitting in the corner staring thoughtfully at an empty glass of butterbeer. The man had shaggy, ashen hair and fingerless gloves. When he spotted Albus and Scorpius he smiled at them and Albus was shocked to see that he had no teeth.

Scorpius pulled him away from the man and to the other side of the pub, sitting him down at a booth with ripped, green cushions. "Do you think that's...?" He asked

"Could be," Albus replied stealing a glance at the old man who had gone back to studying his empty butterbeer. "He looks kinda like..."

Before Albus could finish his thought, he was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked to the bar and spotted another elderly man although this one was much more well kept. His long mousy hair was combed neatly away from his face which was covered by a clean-shaven beard. His startling blue eyes stared into Albus's and made him feel vulnerable as if this man already knew all his secrets. "Gentlemen." The man began sternly "I suppose you want a room?"

"We would sir." Said Scorpius standing up and crossing to the bar. "Do you have any available?"

"You're in luck because I've got one left, room 21."

"Fantastic!" Scorpius replied taking a sleek black wallet out of his pocket.

"Bloody Hell I completely forgot to bring my money!" Albus exclaimed.

"I know." Scorpius said, "Why do you think I brought mine?" He handed the elderly man some galleons and took a rusted silver key with a card reading '21' hanging from it. "Thank you very much." He said beaming. The man didn't reply, just hobbled back into the cellar behind the bar muttering about how Millennials were killing wallets. Scorpius jingled the key to show Albus before putting it in his trouser pocket. "Let's go." He said.

Albus followed him up a steep, spiral staircase that ended in a narrow hallway lined with carpet. When they reached their room, Scorpius let himself in. Albus had barley even gotten through the door when he heard Scorpius say "Oh no."

"What?" Albus asked, closing the door.

"Come look at this."

Albus walked over to Scorpius but didn't see a problem. The room wasn't great but it was inhabitable with a bed in the middle and...wait, only one bed.

"Oh no." Albus agreed.

"What are we gonna do?"

Albus's mind flashed to one possibility before he mentally scolded himself. "I'm fine sleeping on the floor."

"No no," Scorpius said. "I don't want to make you do that. The bed is big enough for the both of us."

"What?" Albus exclaimed.

"It's fine, Al," Scorpius assured him. "It's not like we haven't done it before."

Albus could feel his face grow red as Scorpius brought that up. He would protest further, you weren't supposed to sleep in the same bed as your best friend two nights in a row. And you weren't supposed to want to. But Albus was exhausted and he did want to, so he was going to, it's not like anyone would find out about it.

"Alright." He said, pulling up the blanket and climbing in. Scorpius got in on the other side, as far away from him as possible.

"Goodnight, Al." He said turning away, towards the door.

"Goodnight Scorp," Albus replied also turning away. He could feel Scorpius next to him, the heat radiating off his body made Albus feel warm and fuzzy inside. He could imagine what Scorpius looked like, curled up, hair smashed against the pillow, eyes shut tight waiting for a pleasant dream to rip him from reality temporarily. He wanted to turn around and look at him but he knew he couldn't. He just closed his eyes and smiled before softly drifting off to sleep.


	14. In The Church

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus is running, Scorpius is panicking, they've confronted their true feelings and they can't stay hidden for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all happy new year! I'm finally caught up updating here with how many chapters I currently have written and I've been experiencing some writer's block plus midterms are coming up so I may not have another chapter written by next week but I'll try to update as soon as I can. Also sorry this one's kinda late I've been a little preoccupied worrying about World War Three. I thought that now the orange man was in a peach he wouldn't be able to ruin literally everything anymore but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, enjoy this chapter you're gonna enjoy it trust me ;)

Albus's eyes opened gradually as sunlight streamed in through the windows of his and Scorpius's room, illuminating it in warm, golden light. Albus looked over at Scorpius sleeping next to him. He was spread out, one arm hanging off the mattress clenched in a fist as though he was trying to punch the air and the other one laying across Albus's chest. He looked light as a feather lying there. He looked free and unanxious and beautiful like he could easily sprout wings and soar away. He resembled a dove or a swan or any other equally pale, graceful bird. Albus loved him and at that moment all he wanted to do was kiss him, to allow their lips to meet and share in all of his delightfulness. He knew he must be going insane, he knew he had just woken up and wasn't thinking straight but he wanted this, he needed this. He meticulously shifted Scorpius's arm off his chest so as not to wake him and put his hand on his cheek. It was warm. Scorpius's eyes fluttered open and he smiled that perfect smile of his. A soft blush lit his cheeks and he was just so beautiful. Albus couldn't help himself. Gently, he leaned over and let their lips touch.

For a moment, Scorpius, in his still half-asleep state, pulled him down and kissed him back. It was the most perfect thing Albus had ever experience, Scorpius's soft lips moving against his made the entire world feel brighter and more alive, more worth living in. But then Scorpius pulled away, his eyes wide as he just stared at his friend in disbelief. Albus felt a wave of shame wash over him and he couldn't take it. He jumped out of the bed and ran through the door into the hall, leaving Scorpius alone behind him.

***

Scorpius just sat there on the bed mouth hanging open, remember the feeling of Albus's lips on his, the aroma of berries and other sweet things wafting off his skin. He had never felt anything like it before. It was more magical than anything he'd seen at Hogwarts. The only reason he pulled away was because he knew it was wrong. He couldn't kiss a boy, he couldn't kiss Albus. But it didn't make sense. If the feelings were real why did it matter what gender they were? If they really loved each other it shouldn't matter that they were both boys. All that should matter is the love part.

***

Albus ran. He didn't know where he was going, only that he couldn't return to where he had been. His feet carried him through the streets of Hogsmeade, bolting around corners and dodging pedestrians until he could go no further. He stopped, out of breath, outside a tall structure with a stained glass window. A church. How fitting. Albus opened the massive doors and dragged himself inside.

***

Scorpius hadn't gone after Albus. He stayed in the room pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair grasping at it with frustration. He needed to find Albus. Where was he? Why hadn't he run after him like the first time? Why? Why? Why? Albus kissed him. Albus kissed him and it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. No that's not right. Meeting Albus was the best thing to ever happen to him, Just having that boy in his life was remarkable. Just having him there with him even if only as a friend, not everything he yearned for, was enough, well not exactly enough but it was still good, it was great actually. He almost had him as everything but now he didn't have him at all.

"Oh, Albus." Scorpius muttered, sinking to the floor in defeat "You're the only one who understands me, you're the only one who gets me, you're the only one I ever want to be with. Where did you go?"

***

Albus shuffled down the aisle of the church. Each step he took echoed in the empty chamber. He took a seat in the very first row of pews and gazed up at the cross on the altar. Albus wasn't religious at all. He didn't really believe in any kind of higher power and his parents never tried to force religion upon him which he was grateful for. He liked to believe that everyone was responsible for their own actions and should be motivated to do good without the promise of eternal happiness in some kind of dreamy, stary paradise in the clouds. So why was he here? Why had he brought himself to a church?

***

Why had Scorpius brought himself to a church? He stood outside the doors with his hands on his hips. This was the last place Albus would go for comfort. Still though, some strange intuition in his gut, almost like a sixth sense, told him to go inside. He pushed the doors open with a creak and sure enough, a wide eyed, tear stained face spun around. Albus. It was in that instant when Scorpius saw Albus's enchanting face, his sparkling green eyes, his thin red lips, his jet black hair that never lays flat, that he knew he loved him. He loved Albus Potter and he wanted the whole world to know it.

***

Albus turned around when he heard the doors of the church creak open. He knew who it was before he looked but hoped he was mistaken. He spun around and sure enough, saw the tidy hair, ashen eyes, and narrow nose of Scorpius Malfoy. Albus loved him. He always had, since the day they had first locked eyes on the Hogwarts Express, but he couldn't let Scorpius know it.

***

Before Scorpius knew what he was doing he was strutting down the aisle toward Albus with mounds of unearned confidence. He didn't care. He needed this.

***

Before Albus knew what was happening Scorpius was upon him. He pulled him to his feet and put his hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Was what Albus would have said if he got the chance before Scorpius pulled him towards him and kissed him.

***

What was he doing? Scorpius had no idea all he knew was that he liked this, no loved this. He loved this and he loved Albus.

***

What was Scorpius doing? Albus didn't understand. Just before he had pulled away when Albus tried to kiss him and now here he was making out with him in the middle of a church. Albus wasn't complaining though. He pulled Scorpius closer and deepened the kiss. He could stay like this forever.

***

Scorpius finally broke away, panting and pressed his forehead to Albus's. He gazed into his eyes. "I love you." He said softly.

***

Albus could feel Scorpius's breath on his face as he said those three words more powerful than any spell. Those three words healed him, fixed him, completed him. "I love you, too." He said.

Scorpius sighed with relief. "Okay good. Cuz if you didn't that'd be kinda awkward."

Albus laughed. "I can't believe we just kissed in a church." He pointed out.

"Why?" Scorpius asked. "Cuz we're gay?"

"You're gay?" Albus exclaimed.

Now it was Scorpius's turn to laugh "Did you miss the whole 'I love you' part?"

"No, I just thought you meant like...as friends."

"Did you also miss the part where I kissed you?"

"That could still be platonic," Albus argued. "I just don't want to assume that you like me that way it sounds too good to be true..."

Scorpius cut him off with another kiss. "Still think it's platonic?" He asked.

Albus shook his head.

"Good cuz it's not." And he kissed him again.


	15. Rose's Contrivance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are finally together and they return to The Hog's Head only to find someone there waiting for them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello there! I bet you all thought you'd seen the last of me but I'm back! Life got a bit crazy for a while there and honestly I just couldn't find the motivation to finish up this story but now since I'm stuck inside all day (thanks Corona) I thought I might as well get the last few chapters out. I realized that at the beginning of the notes for chapter 14 I was talking about ww3 and Trump's impeachment and it's just so insane how much the world has changed since then. I hope you're all staying safe and isolated but still finding ways to be connected. Don't close yourselves off, other people still exist even if you can't see them in person. Anyway there's at most 2 chapters left in this fic with a possible epilogue which I'll try to get out as soon as possible since I don't want to leave y'all hanging longer than I already have but I'm rambling so enjoy the chapter and stay safe! Oh and MINOR SWEARING WARNING! Like really minor like one little cuss.

Albus and Scorpius walked back to The Hog’s Head, hand in hand, cheeks red, lips swollen, and eyes sparkling. Scorpius couldn’t stop laughing. He practically skipped into the pub but once he stepped through the threshold he stopped dead in his tracks and dropped Albus’s hand. Sitting at the very same table as the old man had been just a day prior, studying her mug of butterbeer with great intrigue was Rose Granger-Weasley.

“Hello, Scorpius.” She said keeping her eyes trained on the mug, a sly smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she drummed her fingers rhythmically on the table.

“Rose?” Albus exclaimed in disbelief as he pushed past his boyfriend to get a good look at her. 

She finally broke her gaze from her mug and made eye contact with Albus. Her stare was so calculated and mischievous that it sent a shiver up his spine. “I’m sure you’ve been wondering where I’ve been.”

“Rose…” Albus stammered. He couldn’t believe his eyes, she was here, right in front of him seemingly unharmed and safe. What was going on? “Are you okay? What happened? Who took you?” A million questions filled his mind and he practically shouted them at her. He was just so happy to see her again.

“Calm the fuck down, Al!” Rose commanded. “I wasn’t taken.”

Scorpius pipped up “I’m sorry what?”

“Sit down.” She said, gesturing to the empty seats at the table. “Have a drink, let’s catch up.”

***

Why did Rose Granger -Weasley run away? What would motivate such an intelligent and talented young woman to fake her own kidnapping, to leave everything she has behind and hide within the dingy walls of the Hogs Head? It’s very simple, love. Rose Granger-Weasley only loves a handful of people, Albus Severus Potter is one of them. Rose loves all her cousins but she’s always had a particularly strong connection with Albus. He was like a brother to her and even though they had spent the last couple years fighting she still cared deeply for him and would do whatever it took to give him the happiness she knew he deserved. So when she saw him desperately (and quite pathetically) pinning after Scorpius she knew she had to intervene. Albus was in love with him, Rose could it in the way he smiled whenever he mentioned his name. His eyes turned to hearts and his face heated up and he was just so in love that it made Rose sick to her stomach. She knew that Albus and Scorpius would be perfect together. They would make a beautiful couple, breaking the rules and destroying the status quo, so why hadn’t Albus just  
asked him out yet? It was painfully obvious, at least to her, that Scorpius reciprocated his feelings. Then Rose realized, Albus was scared. He was scared of how Scorpius would react, scared of losing one of the most important people in his life over a silly kindergarten crush. But Rose wasn’t scared of anything except spiders and failure. And since her plan was guaranteed to work and spider free she didn’t have to worry about either of those. So she started plotting her escape. She realized there were two ways for a person to sneak out of Hogwarts, make a distraction or be painstakingly quiet. Rose chose the later, she had never been one for unnecessary theatricality. So she spent the rest of the summer pouring over maps of Hogwarts hoping to find a viable escape route. Finally she found something. While over at the Potters’ one day she was poking around James’ room as she so often did and found something very peculiar in his bedside drawer, a map of Hogwarts. The map was odd though, it featured the names of people and their current location on the Hogwarts grounds. When Rose confronted James about it he muttered the phrase “mischief managed” under his breath and cursed himself for leaving it unconcealed again. Then he left it unattended on his dresser as he exited he room once more to get a bag of crisps. Naturally Rose snatched it and when she got home that night she examined it, trying to figure out what exactly it was. She recalled one of her father’s old stories about a magical map of Hogwarts that the trio had used in their third year to catch Sirius Black. What had he said the magic words were? 

Rose picked up the map and whispered “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

Ink grew from the center of the map forming a floor plan that she immediately recognized to be the Hogwarts grounds. She commended herself on once again being just incredibly clever before jumping into her thorough examination of it. She realized almost immediately that the map was of more than just the Hogwarts Grounds. It also showed secret passageways and hiding spots that would be invaluable to her as she made her escape. She planned out her route, thinking it through in her head. She would sneak out of her dormitory in the middle of the night after the feast and go through the tunnel leading to Honeydukes. From there she would travel to The Hog’s Head and get a room for a few days until Albus and Scorpius came looking for her like she knew they would. She also knew that this kind of adventuring was the perfect thing to bring them together and make them finally admit their feelings for one another. She just had to figure out how she was going to set them on her trail. Then she realized, when she disappeared everyone’s first assumptions would be that she was taken. Why else in Merlin’s name would Rose Granger-Weasley just vanish in the middle of the night without a trace? All she had to do was play into that. She created a name, “Yeva”, meaning yellow. In Victorian flower language a yellow rose symbolized friendship. She was quite proud of herself for that one. Then she wrote that mysterious note and handed it off to one of Albus and Scorpius’s roommates at the feast along with 5 galleons for him to get it to Scorpius in one piece the next morning and not read it. It was risky, sure, Rose didn’t know how well she could trust a Slytherin but she had no choice. Then later that night around one in the morning she made her escape. 

It was surprisingly drama free. All the teachers had returned to their rooms in order to get a good night’s rest and do some final preparations before lessons started up the next day. Her one close encounter with Filch was easily prevented from becoming disastrous when she found that one of the portraits on that floor actually had a closet behind it that she could hide in (thank you map) She slipped into the secret passageway in no time and was at the Hog’s Head by morning where she got herself a room, brushed up on her transfiguration magic, and waited for the boys to arrive. And they did only about 24 hours after she’d arrived. She was sitting at one of the tables in her disguise as the old, toothless man, staring absent-mindedly at her empty glass of butterbeer when they walked in. Albus and Scorpius, looking defeated and exhausted and covered in scratches and cuts. She felt bad for them, maybe she should have said something in her letter about the secret passageway so they wouldn’t have had to go through the Forbidden Forest. But then again fear and danger were very good at bringing people together. She was curious to see if her plan had already succeeded or if they were still somehow in denial of the other one’s reciprocation of their feelings. She realized with discontentment that the later was true but she wasn’t dismayed she had purposefully taken the room with two beds so that the only one left would have one. 

Early that morning she once again resumed her post, monitoring The Hog’s Head intently from her corner scanning it for signs of either one of those hopelessly in love boys. At around ten she saw Albus. He ran past her without a second thought and out onto the street, frantic and crying. She considered going after him but decided she should wait a bit longer to see if Scorpius followed. He did just mere minutes after also running through the bar but with determination and purpose. Rose knew she had succeeded. She went to her room, changed out of her disguise then came back downstairs and waited until they returned. And return they did, holding hands looking all shiny and in love, Rose couldn’t help but smile. She was glad Albus had found someone who made him happy she hoped that one day maybe she could have that as well. But with a girl of course men were stupid and uneducated. Rose couldn’t imagine ever being in love with one of them. Still Albus and Scorpius were finally together and they were happy, overjoyed even. And that made Rose’s heart flutter. Her cousin was happy, he was in love and most importantly this was going to make the rest of the family absolutely furious.


	16. Rose needs to cool it with the crisps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story is now out there, the truth has been revealed so what happens now? According to Rose, they just eat a lot of crisps. Just a whole lot of fluff and not very much plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I'd get the next chapter out as soon as possible didn't I? Well I spent all day yesterday writing and I pretty much finished the story! So I've got one more chapter that I'm going to be releasing tomorrow and then the epilogue which I'm going to put out the day after that and then we'll be done! I can't say I'm not sad to see this story go, I really did put a lot of my heart and soul into it but I already have loads of ideas for other fics that I can't wait to start so don't go away. Anyway enjoy the chapter! :) And another SWEARING WARNING

“I’m sorry, what?” Albus’s mind was reeling. He was pacing back and forth in front of the table as Rose recounted her plan. Scorpius had long since taken a seat next to her and began picking at the basket of crisps in the center of the table although he also didn’t look very pleased with her.

“Really you should be thanking me.” Rose defended. “I’m the reason you idiots finally confronted your feelings and made out or whatever.” 

“We didn’t…” Scorpius started but Albus cut him off.

“So what? It’s still not okay to interfere in my love life and you had us all worried sick.”

“To be fair without me you wouldn’t even have a love life right now so…” Rose grabbed a handful of crisps from the basket and began to eat them. 

“Me and Scorpius would have eventually confronted our feelings for each other without your intervention.” Albus said, stopping in front of the table to take a crisp before resuming his pacing.

‘Actually,” Scorpius interjected “I’m not really sure we would have.”

“See Albus your boyfriend is on my side.” Rose said as she shoved more crisps into her mouth.

Albus blushed when she said that. It was true now but that didn’t mean hearing someone else say it outloud didn’t startle him and he was still having trouble believing it could be real, that Scorpius could really be his. He thought at any minute he would wake up from this perfect dream and find himself back in the dorm, alone in his bed and scorpius in his.

“Not entirely.” Scorpius continued. “I mean I am glad that Albus and I are together now and I appreciate that you were just trying to help but what you did was incredibly irresponsible. We had no idea what happened to you and everyone was worried sick. You can’t just disappear.”

Rose considered this as she ate another crisp. “Huh. I guess I had just never really thought about it like that. Next time I need to run away in order to make a couple of dumbass gays confess their feelings for each other I won’t make it seem like I was kidnapped.”

“That’ not really what I..”

“Next time?” Albus exclaimed. “You plan on doing this again?” 

“You never know.” She said innocently as she went into the basket for her third round of crisps.

“You’re insufferable Rose!” Albus said. He couldn’t believe it, the nerve of her to manipulate him and Scorpius like that, to take away their freedom to decide how and when they got to start dating. He was practically fuming. His face was all red and scrunched up and he looked about to explode.

“Al,” Scorpius said calmly looking at him with the softest expression imaginable. It made all his anger melt away in an instant. “Sit down please you look like you’re about to burst.”

Albus obeyed and sat down next to his boyfriend. Scorpius took his hand and his heart skipped a beat. 

“It’s alright, Al I promise. I know you’re upset but in the end this wasn’t really such a bad thing was it?” He said looking down at their interlocked hands.

Albus nodded in agreement. “It’s just...I wanted to be able to tell you how I felt on my own terms, Scorp, and I feel like that was taken from me.”

“I get that.” Scorpius replied his tone still soft and reassuring. “But we need to focus on the positives. Maybe you aren’t thrilled with how it happened but at least we’re together now.” He tightened his hold on Albus’s hand. 

“And I guess that kiss was pretty special.” Albus admitted.

“Yeah it really was” Scorpius’s said dreamily.

“I want to kiss you again very soon.” Albus said making Scorpius go a violent red.

“I’m right here you know.” Rose said through a mouthful of crisps.

“You’re the one who wanted this!” Albus exclaimed.

“Yeah I wanted you guys to be all fluffy and cute and shit I didn’t want to have to hear about the two of you making out while I’m trying to eat my crisps.” Rose said.

Albus and Scorpius both laughed at that.

“It wasn’t a joke, you two are gross. I’m gonna go get more crisps.” Rose stood up from the table and grabbed the empty basket before striding over to the bar. 

Once her back was turned Albus took Scorpius’s face and kissed him just once, just gently. When he pulled away Scorpius giggled and then pulled him back in. They were still kissing when Rose returned. 

“Like I said, disgusting.” 

Albus and Scorpius pulled apart and just smiled at her.

“I’m not kidding just get a room already, Merlin’s beard.”

“What are we going to do now?” Scorpius asked.

“What do you mean?” Rose responded as she took a crisp from the newly refilled basket.

“Well we’re here, we’ve solved your puzzle or whatever. It seems like this is all over now.”

“Yeah, I guess we should get back to the school but I’m not in a rush. We’re all gonna get in so much trouble the second we walk through those doors.”

Albus shivered.


	17. The Return To Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus, Scorpius, and Rose arrive back at Hogwarts but aren't too excited by what they find...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final chapter! Tomorrow the epilogue will come out and then this story will finally be over. I'm going to miss it but I can't wait to finally get started on other projects! Another SWEARING WARNING for this chapter!

It turned out Rose was wrong, they didn’t get in trouble the second they walked through the doors because once they trekked back through the forest and emerged onto the Hogwarts grounds, their parents were already there, standing arms crossed along with a very displeased looking Professor McGonagall.

“Oh no.” Scorpius wined “We’re toast.” 

“It’ll all be just fine Scorp, I promise.” Albus gave his boyfriend’s hand a little squeeze before dropping it and starting across the bright green grass towards his parents. His father had a look of severe disappointment on his face that made Albus’s heart drop. He had worked so hard to repair his relationship with his father and gain his trust and he had just blown it. His mother just looked furious. 

“How could you do this?” She exclaimed her face as red as her hair. “How could you just run off like that? This wasn’t your problem to fix, Albus! I can’t believe you could be so careless and selfish! Merlin’s beard, after everything that happened last year…” It was at that point that her anger dissolved into tears. She pulled Albus into a big bear hug “I...I was just so scared.” She sobbed into his shoulder.

“I know mom. I’m really sorry.” Albus could feel his eyes tearing up too. He didn’t even think about how his parents would react to all this, he was too preoccupied with Rose and Scorpius. Scorpius, he was going to have to tell his parents about that...eventually. He looked up at his dad who’s expression was exactly the same as before, unwavering. “I really am sorry, dad.” He said tears freely streaming down his face now. “I wasn’t thinking I just knew that Rose was in trouble and I had to do something.” 

Harry took a step forward and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I can’t say I’m happy about it,”

“I know I feel absolutely terrible about everything dad I promise it will never happen again…”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Harry said lightly “I can’t say I’m happy about it but,” He sighed. “It’s exactly what I would have done too so I don’t think I really have a right to be mad at you.” And with that he joined in on Albus and Ginny’s hug.

Albus felt good, really good standing there on the warm, sunlit grounds of Hogwarts Castle holding both his parents tight, knowing that his boyfriend, actual, official boyfriend, Scorpius was only a few meters away. Everything felt right. Then Professor McGonagall taped him on the shoulder.

“I hate to break up this very important family moment but I think it’s worth mentioning that unlike Mr. Potter I would never do something like this and therefore have every right to punish you for it.” Her voice was as stern and serious as ever but Albus could swear he heard relief behind it. She was truly happy to see him returned safely even if he knew she would never admit it. 

Albus removed himself from his parents arms “Of course Professor I understand, whatever your punishment is I’ll take it.”

She studied him through the lenses of her half moon crescent glasses for a moment before saying: “Six months of detention with me.”

“Oh well that isn’t so bad.”

“And you’ll be serving it with Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy as well. Honestly the nerve of her running off like that and then the nerve of you two to just go follow her!”

Albus couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Thank you, Professor. I swear nothing like this will ever happen again.”

“It better not.” She said harshly “Or you may not find me so forgiving.” She turned away to go tell the others but Albus stopped her, something was still bothering him.

“Professor,” He started. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know what had really happened?”

“What are you talking about Mr. Potter?”

“How did you know that Rose ran away?”

“Ms. Granger is very bright but she seemed to have overlooked a very important truth about The Hog’s Head. Aberforth Dumbledore may not be too keen on our school but when he notices a young girl in Hogwarts robes who shows up in the middle of the night asking for a room and then gets informed a few hours later that a girl from the school has gone missing, he’s not going to stay silent about it.”

“I see.” Albus said “Thank you again, Professor.”

“You’re very welcome Mr. Potter and please try to stay out of trouble from now on. One incident I could understand but you’re starting to become your father.” And with that she turned and began walking towards Rose.

***

Scorpius approached his father tentatively, keeping his head down. The second he reached him though his father pulled him into a bone crushing hug. 

“I was so worried, Scorp.” He said holding onto his son’s hair for dear life. “So worried, please for the love of god never do anything like that ever again.” 

“I won’t, I swear.”

“That’s what you said last year though.” 

“Yeah but this year I mean it.” Scorpius said half laughing, half crying into his father’s chest.

His father let out a small laugh and just held his son tighter. Then Scorpius heard a soft voice behind him say: “Hey Scorp?”

Scorpius pulled himself away from his father and turned around to see Albus, perfect Albus, beautiful Albus, with his stupid messy hair and sparkling eyes. He had the sudden urge to kiss him again but he knew he couldn’t, not right now in front of their parents. Shit. Scorpius realized. They were going to have to tell our parents about them. As much as that terrified him his heart still did a little skip whenever he thought about the fact that there was a them now.

“What’s up, Al?” Scorpius asked trying to be as nonchalant and innocent as possible.

“Do you think we should tell them?” Albus said quietly.

“Tell us what?” Draco asked. 

“Tell us something? What’s up, Al?” his father asked from across the lawn.

“Fuck.” Scorpius whispered. There was no going back now.

“Do you want to tell them or should I?” Albus looked scared out of his mind.

“I...um…” Scorpius stammered he was trying he really was but he just couldn’t find the words, he had never even told his dad that Albus was the kind of person he would be interested in and though he knew his father would love him no matter what it was still terrifying.

“Alright,” The voice belonged to Rose, loud and obnoxious as ever and Scorpius cringed, bracing himself for whatever she was about to say next. “’m just gonna be straight with you all.” She pointed at Albus and Scorpius “They’re not.” 

A collective gasp rose from the parents in front of them and Scorpius felt his face turn a bright crimson.  
“Rose!” Hermione scolded. “You can’t say those types of things!” 

“Not even if they’re true?” Rose defended. “I saw these two giant homos making out with my own two eyes and now I want to burn them. Not that I have anything against two guys kissing it was just disgusting. But why do you think I ran away in the first place? I knew the only way to get these losers to admit their feelings for each other was to force them on some grand adventure, ergo this whole mess.” 

Draco turned to his son, mouth agape. “Is...is she telling the truth, Scorpius?” 

Scorpius didn’t reply, staring at the grass he just grabbed Albus’s hand and muttered “We weren’t making out.” 

Albus snorted. 

“What? It’s true.”

“I just love how that’s the one thing you feel the need to clarify.”

“I love you too, Al.”

“Um...alright.” Harry steps forward. “So I guess Rose is telling the truth you two are…”

“Yes dad.” Albus said not daring to look his father in the eyes “We’re dating.” 

“Wow.” Draco cut in. “I mean I’m happy for your Scorp and I don’t care that it’s a boy but a Potter, really?”

“Seems to be somewhat of a family trend.” Harry said “Having a crush on a Potter.”

“Hey I did not have a crush on you!” Draco exclaimed. 

“Yeah right, Malfoy.”

“Potter.” Draco said angrily

“See there it is.” 

Draco tried to say something but just gave up and returned his gaze to his son. “Really though, Scorp, I’m happy you’re happy.”

“I am happy.” Scorpius decided looking over at his boyfriend “Really happy.”


	18. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Scorpius and Albus's final detention with Professor McGonagall but Scorpius seems a bit nervous. It's probably nothing, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally made it to the end! I can't believe it's really over. I would just like to thank all of the people who have read this story and left kudos and comments. It means so much to know that people are enjoying my writing and motivates me to create more stories in the future. You're all awesome! I hope you enjoy the final installment of The Fifth Year! Spoiler alert: it's kinda just a lot of fluff

“Scorp, will you hurry it up in there? we have to be at McGonagall’s office for detention in five minutes and you know she’s going to kill us if we’re late!” He was pounding on the bathroom door. Practically begging his boyfriend to get out of there. It was their final detention with McGonagall and they had managed to be on time to each one so far, he wasn’t going to ruin that now. “Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy you know I love you more than life itself but if you don’t get your ass out of that bathroom in thirty seconds I’m gonna have to start throwing things!”

Suddenly the door opened and before Albus knew what was happening Scorpius’s lips were on his. He allowed them to be for just a moment or two still amazed after all these months that this could really be his, that Scorpius could really be his. Then he pulled away grinning like a madman.

“I wasn’t joking Scorp we have to go.” 

“I know, I know.” Scorpius said. “Merlin’s beard we were having a moment.”

“I would rather not have another 6 months of detention, let’s go.” He grabbed Scorpius’s hand and pulled him through the common room and out into the cold, echoey corridor. 

They walked in silence at a slightly faster than normal pace. Scorpius seemed to be acting strangely though. He kept muttering things under his breath and was more fidgety than normal. When Albus asked him what was wrong he just said replied with a short, unconvincing “Nothing.” and went back to his muttering. As they got closer and closer to McGonagall's office he got even more agitated. When they were outside her door he was practically sweating. Albus stopped and looked at him.

“Seriously, Scorp, what’s going on?”

“Nothing...nothing I promise.” 

“Are you sure you don’t have a fever or something?” He put a hand to his boyfriend’s forehead but it wasn’t unusually warm, just a bit sweaty. 

Scorpius swatted it away. “I’m fine let’s just go inside, okay?”

“Alright..” Albus said as he opened the door to McGonagall’s office and promptly forgot everything. Instead of seeing an angry McGonagall seated behind her desk with an equally annoyed Rose at her side the desk was pushed to the side and neither or them were anywhere to be found. Instead there was a picnic blanket set up in the middle of the room with candles all around it, burning in the shape of hearts. He walked in a daze over to the picnic basket sitting in the middle of the blanket and it opened on it’s own as he approached. Inside were some sandwiches cut into the shape of hearts and a few bottles of butterbeer. He turned back to Scorpius who was staring at the floor, he had gone as red as the blanket. 

“Happy six months.” He said sheepishly.

“Scorp,” Albus started “What is all this?” 

“You don’t like it?” Scorpius asked anxiously. 

“No I.” he tried to find the words, tried to think of how to articulate all the emotions rising in his chest. He didn’t know how to say it, how to make Scorpius understand how much he meant to him. He didn’t know how to put it into words, the way he felt when he saw his face, laying next to him first thing in the morning, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Or the way every single kiss from the first to the who even knows how many at this point was perfect. Or how his heart skipped a beat every single time Scorpius grabbed his hand or locked his beautiful gray eyes on his with that soft, melting gaze. He couldn’t put his emotions into a tangible form he could only look at Scorpius, look into those pale, stormy, electric gray eyes and say “I love you so much Scorpius.”

Scorpius sighed with relief, his eyes forming tears. “Oh thank Merlin.” He said breathlessly. “I was really afraid you weren’t going to like it.” 

He walked over to Albus and sat down on the blanket, pulling the sandwiches and butterbeers out of the basket. Albus sat down next to him unable to take his eyes off of the stunning boy in front of him. “I had to practically beg Professor McGonagall to let us have the room and she made us move our last detention to tomorrow night instead so remember that.” Scorpius said “I had to get Rose to help with all the magic stuff since it’s pretty advanced and I might be good but let’s be real she’s far superior. Then I had to convince the house elves to make all the sandwiches and cut them into hearts. That part wasn’t so bad, they’re so gosh darn friendly its kind of sad..” He stopped when he noticed Albus looking at him

“You’re staring, Al.” Scorpius smiled as he began to unwrap one of the sandwiches “Why are you staring?”

“It’s just…” Albus didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding incredibly rude. “Why did you do all this? For me, why would you go through all this trouble just for me.”

“What do you mean?” Scorpius asked, taking a bite of his sandwich and tossing another one to Albus.

“I mean I’m not very special…”

“Oh shut up!” Scorpius exclaimed. “You have got to stop saying things like that about yourself we’ve talked about this. You are so special that the fact you don’t know it blows my mind.”

“How exactly am I special?” Albus asked at this point more just fishing for compliments.

Scorpius smiled again and Albus’s felt his heart leap in his chest. “You light up every single room you walk into, Albus. You can make me feel happy no matter what. Even on my darkest days you know just what to say to make me laugh. You don’t just complete my life Albus Potter, you are my life and there is no one else in the world that I would rather be with. I don’t know where I’d even be without you…” It was at that point that Albus couldn’t take it anymore he couldn’t take it anymore he practically launched himself at Scorpius’s lips. Scorpius kind of gasped in surprise but once he realized what was happening he kissed him back, bringing his hands up into Albus’s hair. He pulled Albus closer, so unbelievably close that they seemed more like one singular person than two separate ones. Like their love brought them together and made them one.

The finally pulled apart if only so they could eat their sandwiches. Albus took out two bottles of butterbeer and handed one to Scorpius. “To the past six months and the rest of our lives together.” Scorpius said before they clinked their bottles together. 

“The rest of our lives?” Albus asked after taking a sip.

“Yeah I did say theres no one else in the world I’d rather be with.”

“I know but the rest of our lives? You’re ready to commit to that already? We’re sixteen Scorp.”

“Yes, Albus I’m ready to commit to spending the rest of my life with you even though we’re just sixteen. I want to grow old with you that’s how much I love you. You aren’t ready to commit to that?”

“No I am.” Albus said and he really meant it. He didn’t care what else life threw his way or what people would come and go. He knew Scorpius would be with him forever. “It just kind of sounds like you’re proposing or something.”

“Merlin’s beard no! We’re sixteen Albus have you gone mad? But maybe when we’re eighteen I’ll propose.”

“No I want to be the one to propose.” Albus insisted. “I’m very clearly the man in the relationship.”

“We’re both the man in the relationship, Al that’s kinda the whole point.” Scorpius joked. “But hey if it will make you feel better we can both propose at the same time in an awkward but ultimately lovable moment like in those Muggle romance movies you like so much.”

“I don’t actually like those.” Albus said lying through his teeth.

Scorpius just gave him a look and shook his head. “You’re really something, Albus Potter.”

“I love you too, Scorp.”

***

Once all the sandwiches had been eaten and the butterbeer had been drank Albus and Scorpius decided that it was probably time for them to get back to their dorm. They removed themselves from the odd tangle of limbs that they had somehow managed to get themselves into and cleaned up everything from their picnic before heading off down the corridor hand in hand. When they arrived at the common room it was very late and everyone else had already gone up to bed. Albus and Scorpius snuck into their room, quickly changing into their pajamas. Albus climbed into his bed and expected Scorpius to get into his just across from him but instead he just told Albus to move over.

“Scorp you know we’re really not supposed to…” 

“It’s our anniversary Al we get a pass now move over I’m tired and I just want to sleep next to you is that too much to ask?” 

Albus couldn’t argue with that. He knew their roommates would be mad tomorrow morning. They thought it was unfair that Albus and Scorpius got to sleep in the same bed just because they were both guys but they weren’t allowed to go into the girls dormitory to see their girlfriends. Scorpius always gently reminded them that gay people have a lot more going on then just being able to share a dorm with their partners and that they should all be glad they fit into society’s heteronormative expectations. Still though he scooted over to the very edge of the bed and let Scorpius climb in. He handed him a pillow but he knew he didn’t actually need it, Scorpius would end up just falling asleep on his chest anyway.

“Oh I don’t think ever actually said this.” Albus said through a yawn “But thank you.”

“For what?” Scorpius asked as he laid his head on Albus’s chest. “The picnic?”

“Yes for the picnic but also just for everything else. Thank you for this, thank you for being there for me both now and before we were together. I can’t really ever put it into words how much you mean to me Scorp but I hope you know there isn’t a single thing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Can you do something for me right now?” Scorpius asked, his eyes were closed and his arms were wrapped around Albus’s torso.

“Anything.” Albus whispered

“Can you shut up so I can go to sleep we’ll continue being all cute in the morning but I’m tired, Al.”

“Of course.” Albus said he leaned down and kissed Scorpius’s hair “Goodnight, Scorpius.” He said “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Scorpius said before immediately falling asleep.

Albus’s looked down at the bundle of blonde hair and pale skin holding onto him for dear life and smiled. He couldn’t help it. He whispered “love you.” one more time although he knew Scorpius couldn’t hear him, he was fast asleep. Then he closed his own eyes and promptly fell into a dream not that it could be any better than the dream he was currently living.


End file.
